Dew, 29, of New London, will be sentenced May 8 to up to three years in prison for second-degree robbery. At the sentencing, defense attorney Keith Murray will have the opportunity to argue for a shorter prison term.

Dew, who was stationed at the Naval Submarine Base, walked into an off-base credit union branch on Sailfish Drive in Groton and handed a teller a plastic bag and a note that said, "I have a gun. Put the money in the bag," according to prosecutor Lawrence J. Tytla.

The teller was able to slip a GPS device into the bag among the bills, and police used it to locate and apprehend Dew a short time later in the outbound lane of the base's main gate. The cash was in the car, and there was a pistol in the center console, loaded with five rounds of ammunition but with no round in the chamber, Tytla said.

Dew, who is married, has been free on a $100,000 bond while his case was pending and has been supervised by the Alternative Incarceration Center. On Jan. 16 of this year, he was charged with sixth-degree larceny after employees of Wal-Mart in Waterford reported he had walked out of the store without paying for a Blue Ray/DVD player and a computer printer. That case likely will be resolved at his sentencing.

Dew will be on probation for three years following his release from prison.